November 14, 2016

Hi Folks,

I want to share more news and tips about MLA 8 and Citation Maker.

Elementary MLA Citation Maker
Elementary MLA Citation Maker has been updated to MLA 8. For every secondary MLA template, there is an elementary equivalent. Differences for elementary include simplified language on the template face, fewer drop-down choices for several templates, age-appropriate citation examples at the top of each template, and age-appropriate citation resources linked at the bottom of the Source Type column. Librarians and teachers might find this Marquette University Libraries video helpful to understand MLA’s concept of containers (YouTube, SafeShare).

Secondary MLA Citation Maker
All templates on secondary MLA Citation Maker have been finished for several weeks. Based on user feedback, we added the word “Encyclopedia” to the Book template name and note, and then we did the same on the elementary version.

Drop-Down Choices on Templates
On most templates, different textboxes appear based on what you select from a drop-down menu. The Title drop-down menu usually has several options. Also, users will most often see 3 to 4 answer choices for the question, “Was this accessed online?” For example, on the Book template, users are prompted to make a choice under the Title field. If you choose Article within a Book, textboxes appear for article title, edition, and volume number. Pleaser explore.  

Access to MLA 7
Based on user feedback, we added access to MLA 7, and it will be available through this school year. The red note at the top of the elementary and secondary templates has the MLA 7 link.

Saving Citations
As with MLA 7, there are three ways to save citations. Copy those that appear in the dotted box and paste them where you want them. The downside to that option is that citations are single spaced. Another choice is to click on Save as Word or Pages Doc to generate a document that lists the citations. Or, use Save as a Google Doc to do the same but in Google Drive. For the last two selections, all formatting is retained, including hanging indents and double spacing between and within citations.

Gale’s & Others' MLA 8 Citations
All Gale documents have citations at the bottom, and for MLA, the default in now the 8^th edition. Because MLA 8 encourages users to rely on critical thinking and allows for some flexibility, you may notice differences between how Gale cites a source and how Citation Maker does (or what Purdue OWL would recommend, etc.). For example, in MLA 8, the date accessed field for online resources is optional (whereas it was required in MLA 7), but it is recommended if no publication date is known for the source. Therefore on Citation Maker, if the user knows the publication date, there is no option to fill in the date accessed. Gale has chosen to tack on the date accessed to the end of every citation, even when the publication date is known. When in doubt about accuracy, consult the MLA Handbook. That said, we worked hard on Citation Maker’s accuracy. As always, if you think something is incorrect, please let me know.

For other information and resources about MLA 8 and Citation Maker, browse prior announcements on the OSLIST archive on OSLIS. 

Thanks again to the OSLIS Chair, Marlene Lee, who volunteered at least 175 hours to see this project through. She’s a great partner and friend.  

Questions? Please ask.

Thanks,
Jen

Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Oregon State Library